Portugal (Douro) CP Trip Report 18-21st May 2025

1432 departs from Pinhaõ working back from Pocinho to Porto. 20.05.2025

Sunday 18th May: 

Ready for an early start having arrived into Porto late the previous night. 

At the time of booking the trip, Medway's last MLW, 1964 had been quite regular on the Godim cement train down the Douro line, so it made sense to be able to get into position for it this morning. Of course, since booking the trip 1964 had failed and been sidelined for several months, and with all of the 'interesting' Alsthom 1900's (1903/1905) also now sidelined the best we could hope for was one of the  black Alsthom 1900's.

The returning Godim Cement, led by 1904, from the air, at the rear of the train is the delightful Quinta de Sao Bernardo. 18.05.2025

The trip had already got off to a dubious start- while billed as a stag do for a friend, the aim of the trip was predominantly some hardcore railway photography. So it was rather unfortunate that I had managed to leave my camera on the floor at home in my haste to leave the house (and not forget my passport). 

Things didn't go well- while 1904 was rostered to the turn, the weather had not produced and we wandered down to Camphana just in time to miss the train anyway! We had planned to photograph IR850 inbound from Figueira de Foz with drones, but since the weather was dismal we decided to ride it instead. A quick run up to Ermesinde behind 2627 offered the surprise of another set pulling in in the adjacent platform... I had to make the call to sacrifice our 'nice breakfast' to get another sparky in the book. Joining IR865 with 1461 back at Camphana also aided us in getting good seats at the front of the train for the run onto the Douro.

2609 pauses at Porto Campanhã. 18.05.2025

With the weather improving attention turned to photographing the return freight, and Barqueiros was settled upon, reached by some 592 'Camelo' units. With half-light on the train were were pleased enough. Even more pleasing was to discover the Quinta de Sao Bernardo where we could enjoy a pleasant glass of wine at their bar in the gap before the next train. This spot was a delightful find and also provided a 'take-away' bottle of wine for later. I guess we would not be needing the beers we had already bought from the Aregos bar!

Back on the trains it was up to Mosteirô to meet with the rest of the group and properly commence this 'Stag do that wasn't a stag do' and get that wine from Barqueiros flowing. With the light still not great, and the promise of a new bar, we move straight on to Covelinhas with the hope that the light might come through for our final planned shot of the day. It didn't but the bar produced some beers and provided a bottle of unmarked port. This passed the time nicely until it was time step back to Pinhaõ for more beer and port before the final move on to Régua to check in to our accommodation for the week, an apartment 5 minutes from the station. 

1904 works the return Godim cement train, seen passing Barqueiros. 18.05.2025

Dinner and more wine followed, resulting in the expiration of several members of the group... Oops- we maybe got a bit carried away on the first night!

IR831 2627 Porto Campanhã - Ermesinde
IR850 2609 Ermesinde - Porto Campanhã
IR865 1461 Porto Campanhã - Aregos
IR871 1432 Mosteirô - Covelinhas
IR875 1454 Covelinhas - Pinhaõ 
R4200 1432 Pinhaõ - Régua

Monday 19th May:

1415 in the Tua gorge, heading towards Pocinho. 19.05.2025

Plans to photograph the first Up train, which had been seen going down to Pocinho with a full rack of Sorefame coaches last night were soon abandoned when it rolled past the apartment window! On a positive, the weather had dawned better than expected and all were able to drag themselves up for our planned train down the line in order to spend the morning photographing the trains around Tua. Even better news, was that following a covert mission to retrieve it from my bedroom floor before their later flight, our 'stag' Rhys had managed to re-unite me with my forgotten camera! Cheers!

The sky soon clouded over, taking out our morning photos in the Tua gorge, and lunch got off to a bad start as well with the planned restaurant full of staff... but closed! Fortunately the usual bar behind the station was open to provide sustenance. 

An expensive shot of 1454 crossing the river Tua viaduct. 19.05.2025

We had a few more photos to check out around Tua, during which time we checked out our restaurant for later, the Beira-Rio, had an ice cream and accidentally discovered a boat option to get across the river. 

1427 arrives at Regua with IR861 to Pocinho. 19.05.2025

This seemed an excellent plan as we had some time and it would enable a nice shot of the next train on the viaduct. Communication was a little challenging, and it sounded like the quick trip across the river was going to cost €10 each, a lot of money when compared to the €1 fare to get across at Aregos, but there we go. We made it to the photo spot, achieved a nice sunny shot and fortunately found that the boatman was still waiting to return us. Clearly he had seen us coming as we eventually ended up parting with €30 each for the couple of minutes crossing of the river! We think we must have paid for a full hours private riverboat tour and just decided not to use it. Ah well... Shot done. It won't need repeating!

After many many steps up and down the Tua area to photograph trains, dinner was enjoyed before taking the last train back to Régua. Being in slightly better condition tonight we did manage to get to the 'Port wagon' where a couple of bottles were enjoyed until it became clear that our welcome was expiring.

IR861 1427 Régua - Alegria
R4200 1461 Tua - Régua

Tuesday 20th May:

IR862 emerges from Godim tunnel with a full rake of Sorefame coaches hauled by 1427. 20.05.2025

Another fairly early start as today we really had to target that full Sorefame rake which had done the overnight trip once again. Over several visits to this line it has been a long held ambition to one day capture a full rake of these lovely silver coaches, but until this time now we had never seen one. 

There aren't many options to get decent light on this first run, and our best bet was deemed to be a taxi move up to the tunnel at Godim to capture IR826. Getting a taxi from Regua was no issue but communicating our plan was not quite so easy! Having overshot our location, we managed to turn the taxi around and persuade our somewhat confused driver to wait for us while we got the shot. Fortunately it all worked and a quartet of happy photographers returned to their taxi complete with a nice Sorefame shot- and still the taxi on the meter cost considerably less than yesterday's boat!

It was now time to pick up our booked agenda, down to Ferradosa for some more hardcore photography. After a considerable walk back down the gorge, today the sun gods were on our side and we were rewarded with a picture of 1432 emerging from the Valira tunnel on IR865.

All were very pleased to be rewarded with an ice cream and a beer at the bar near Ferradosa station while we waited for 1432 to return and take us back to Pinhaõ on IR868. We had a lengthy lunch stop here which, after a long slog up the hill, was spent at the lovely Quinta Rosa (not the cheapest meal!).

IR865 is led out of the Valeira tunnel by 1432. 20/05/2025

Like them or not, the RENFE 592 'Camelo' DMU's are a firm
part of the Douro scene. 218 stands at Pinhaõ. 20.05.2025

Now it was a repeat of Monday's move to Covelinhas- this time with less port and plenty more sunshine- though I'm not totally sure my paddling shot next to the causeway totally worked!

Back to Pinhaõ on IR875 for a quick re-stock courtesy of our favourite port selling grocery store (which was open despite saying it was closed). This provided a sort of packed dinner for R4200 with 1415, enabling us to head straight to the port wagon on arrival at Regua. I think we all felt pity for the French party who were travelling all the way to Porto- having enjoyed the luxury of a hauled train as far as Regua it was now an all shacks Camello to Marco de Canaveses for an all shacks EMU onwards!

1427 crosses the causeway at Covelinhas working IR876. 20.05.2025

IR861 1436 Régua - Ferradosa
IR868 1432 Ferradosa - Pinhaõ
IR875 1436 Covelinhas - Pinhaõ 
R4200 1415 Pinhaõ - Régua

Wednesday 21st May

Douro freight day again- and since our stag Rhys had managed to repel it on all previous visits, and also still required 'the shot' at Ribadouro this was the obvious plan for the morning. 
It had dawned beautifully sunny in Regua- but alas, as we headed up the valley a heavy mist set in! 

As if the weather wasn't enough of our problem, after proclaiming how pleasant it was not to be barked at constantly by the usual dog, some locals then came and started a fire burning some of the green vegetation, and virtually smoking out our shot as well! Fortunately some kind words via Google Translate did the trick and the fire was subdued for the passing of our train!

This took out the first few shots at Ribadouro, including Medways 1904 on the freight- but we did at least still manage to capture 1427 on IR865 once the cloud had lifted.

1436 and its rake of Sorefames cross the viaduct at Ribadouro on a still misty morning. 21/05/2025

Of course we still had the return of the freight, which was seen at Aregos- where everything was closed. The bar appears not to open on Wednesdays, and in my non-existent Portugeese I also managed to conclued that there was no boat across the river today either. 

After the passage of the big Alsthom it was time to get out to somewhere with a few more supplies- back to Mosteriô and a bit of a walk down to a 'new' cafe down by the Porto Antigo hotel. What one member of the group thought was a terrible plan quickly became brilliant once Francesinha's were spotted on the menu and even more so when there were four on our table! 

Medway 1904 at Aregos with the Godim Cement. 21/05/2025

All too soon it was time for our exit from the Douro with 1427 doing the honours on IR868 back to Campanhã for a tram to the airport. An excellent few days on the Douro, made better by the great company and attractive train formations! While some will disagree- the multicoloured arrays that this line can produce are not for me- and it was therefore wonderful, not only to see the consistent use of orange locos, but also the absence of almost all of the colourful coaches that split up the nice sliver red and cream rakes- just may 'favorite' blue coach to get in the way this week!

IR860 1432 Régua - Mosteriô

IR868 1427 Mosteriô - Porto Campanhã

Mexico - Riding the 'Chepe'

GP40-2's 3021 and 3019 with GP38M-2 2017 perform a long shunt as part of the compex operation of turning and re-forming the Chepe Express after the evening arrival in Creel.

Mexico is not a country known for it's passenger trains, indeed in 1997 as part of the privatisation of Mexico's railways, passenger services were suspended across the country. 
While there have been a few positive developments in recent years (notably 'Tren Maya' on the Yucatan peninsula and the 'Interoceanico' train in the south of the country best known for it's use of ex-British Intercity 125 trains) there was one passenger service which survived the cuts; 'El Chepe' running from the city of Chihuahua to the Pacific coast at Los Mochis in northwestern Mexico. 

Since I was travelling to Chihuahua for a wedding, and the Chepe runs through one of the most scenic nearby destinations, the Copper Canyon (a large part of the reason for its survival) incorporating the train into my trip was a no-brainer. 

The Chepe Express arrives at Divisadero. 29.04.2025

The route route of the train is officially the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico, of which construction started around 1900 and is now operated by Ferromex. The line was not finally completed until 1961 having been built in stages and at great cost and skill. The line features 87 tunnels, 36 major bridges and includes one of only three full 'loop's' in North America where the track crosses back over itself  as it climbs from sea level to a maximum gradient of 8,000 ft. The route covers 415 over it's full route and to travel from Chihuahua through to Los Mochis is a full days travel scheduled to take 16 1/2 hours. 

Chepe coaches shunting at Creel.

The passenger train operation is a little complicated, and actually runs as two different services; the 'Chepe Regional' which runs two days a week in each direction calling at all stations on the complete route from Chihuahua and Los Mochis and is aimed at the local market. Much more widely publicised is the 'Chepe Express', a luxury tourist train which runs between Creel (a town some 160 miles southwest of Chihuahua) and the Pacific at Los Mochis up to three times a week in each direction calling at principle stations in a mere 9 hours, if of course it is on time! 

The Copper Canyon at Divisadero.

While the two services sound simple enough, there are several nuances which make planning a journey a little more tricky- Tourists are very much encouraged to travel on the more expensive luxury 'Chepe Express' train, to the point that tickets cannot be booked to travel on the Regional train, except between Chihuahua and Creel where it is the only option. Those then wishing to use the Regional, in order to facilitate a multi-day itinerary can then change their tickets by phone, but only having paid for the more expensive train, and ensuring that the majority of their journey is on the 'Express'. The timetable also means that one cannot start a journey in Chihuahua on the Regional and then change on to the Express at Creel... as that will have already departed ahead of it, and since you can't do the whole trip by Regional, an overnight stay is enforced! Oh- and during 'off peak' times, which include May and June the Express schedule reduces to twice a week. 

GE ES44AC 4590 leads the Chepe Regional south of Posada station. EMD GP40-2 3022 is the trailing loco. 29.04.2025

Reading all the above, and with events which I could not move either side of our wedding in Chihuahua planning a trip on the 'Chepe' soon became quite constrained. I wanted to get off and visit some of the Copper Canyon as well, so eventually settled for travelling just a short part of the route, from Creel to Bahuichivo (around 3 hours), staying overnight and then returning the following day. 
Of course I would like to have done the whole thing, but this was going to be the best way for my partner and I to experience the train and actually have a nice time as well- even if it did mean a 4 hour drive from Creel on either side! 

First class seating on the Chepe Express.

The 'Chepe Express' contains three classes of accommodation, Tourist (offering a reserved seat in a coach), Business Class (with additional access to the Business Class Bar) and finally the most expensive option of 'First Class'. This top end option gives access to all the facilities of the train, a comfortable reserved seat with power point and Wi-Fi as well as access to the Business Class bar, a panoramic dome restaurant and the terrace bar at the rear of the train which comes complete with large opening windows. I opted for the 'First Class' option, coming in at around £140 per person for the return journey of about 3 hours each way. A lot of money by Mexican standards (and there is no food or drink included), but not a huge expense for a train of this nature all things given - plus, I wanted to travel in the dome and on the outside viewing terrace!

A trio of EMD locos, GP40-2's 3021 and 3019 with GP38M-2 2017 sandwiched in the middle  the Chepe Express stock at Creel with  

The Business class lounge.

The 'Express' itself is a lengthy train, loading to 14 coaches during our journey, and hauled by a trio of Ferromex EMD GP/SD40's which are now a considerable vintage. On my one sighting of the Chepe Regional it was a GE ES44AC in charge, a much newer machine dating to just 2007. The locos of the Express look and sound great, but if you are hoping to listen to them from on board, think again! First class is marshalled at the back of the train so that the terrace bar always looks out over the tracks (this requires some very complex shunting and 'wyeing' of the train to keep it all in the right order!), and while the terrace has opening windows, being 14 coaches back with a diesel generator under each coach to provide the air conditioning leaves absolutely no chance of hearing the engines! While the carriages have 'barn' style doors where the top half opens, passengers are not permitted to travel in the vestibules on the Express (and there are plenty of staff to enforce this), and despite paying the highest fare, passengers are not allowed into lower class parts of the train to get near to the engines either- ah well, time to enjoy the bar instead! (Note that the Chepe Regional seemed to be full of people in doorways- I suspect this train is not flooded with hospitality staff!). 

After staying overnight in Creel we boarded the Chepe Express around 20 minutes before departure (having realised during breakfast that you are supposed to be ready to board 45 mins before!) and were greeted by the hosts directing us to the First Class boarding point. All passengers are pre-booked and listed on check-in sheets with the carriage staff, and we later discovered that the train could well depart from stations early once everyone was on board.

Ferromex 3021, 3007 and 2017 depart from Bahuichivo bound for Los Mochis. 27.04.2025

We were seated and offered hot drinks and a pastry- lovely- except we were charged for them later! Before we were allowed to explore the train there is a lengthy safety video clearly aimed at those who are not regular train travellers, and passengers are then given a wristband to allow access to their parts of the train. 

The open terrace bar with views out over the rear
of the train.

The journey is spectacular for the entire stretch that we are travelling between Creel and Bahuichivo with the train runnin almost right on the rim of the canyon at Divisadero (you might even see it from the dome restaurant)- I believed there to be a short pause here so that everyone could get a photo of the canyon, but in actual fact nobody was allowed off the train- so that was a view to return to in the car! 

My favorite spot on the train was the terrace bar where one can enjoy a beer while enjoying the open views of this picturesque region out the back of the train. There are several 'landmarks' which are announced and result in an influx of passengers, but most of the time the coach is fairly quiet, as it seems is most of the area being off-season. 

The other carriages were also of course sampled. The Business class bar being a very comfortable place to enjoy a drink with sofas to relax, though these soon became rather cramped when a large tour group turned up! 

A happy customer, your writer, enjoying the dome restaurant.

The dome restaurant car is another highlight of the trip and was enjoyed for dinner on the return. The level of English on board the train is sometimes limited and ordering dinner proved a little more difficult than expected, ordering wine even more so! Having established that there was no red wine available, a bottle of rosé was enjoyed with a beef steak (which wasn't really a beef steak). It was all nice, but perhaps not the outstanding meal that it could have been. The views however are certainly elevated, even if the AC which has to work particularly hard in this 'greenhouse' does make the environment a little loud.

Tourist class coaches.

This scenic line is far from busy, during both journeys no other trains were sighted, and during my time in the Creel area there was little evidence of much traffic. Perhaps once or twice a day a train horn would be heard, but one freight train was caught while out and about on the road. 

Creel itself is a pleasant town in which to spend a few days, maintaining it's 'Western' feel and fully kitted out to cater for the tourist trade. And at 'just' 4 hours from the city of Chihuahua, the Copper Canyon region really is 'close'! 

The attractive town of Creel.

Pacifico beers in the bar!

Overall I really enjoyed my trip on the 'El Chepe' and if I found myself back in the area with a little more time I would certainly like to complete the full journey. It is remarkable that the train has survived cuts to Mexican services, but when speaking to the locals of Chihuahua state it is clear that they are fiercely proud of their train- 'the last one in Mexico!' The real proof though is that my partner enjoyed the trip and said that she could quite happily spend 9 hours on board!

Details of train schedules, fares and how to book are on the Chepe website https://chepe.mx/

El Chepe nears San Rafael on 29th April 2025 working from Creel to Los Mochis.

SNCF - French Riviera - Trip Report 13-16th March 2025

An 'InOui' (I still don't see what was wrong with the TGV brand!?) service is led by TGV Duplex 719 seen heading westbound and at the Cap-Roux. 16/03/2025.

Introduction:

BB22310 leads a TER past the red rocks of the Cap-Roux.
16/03/2025

It was back in 2008 that I last travelled along the French Riviera from Ventimiglia (having arrived from Italy) through to Marseilles, and I remember that as well as being a fairly slow bit of railway, much of it was also spectacular with viaducts, tunnels and views out over the Mediterranean, oh, and the traction for half of the trip was a venerable BB25500!  
It ought not to have taken me 17 years to return to photograph and travel the route again, but having recently seen some lovely coastal pictures, and with the news of the impending withdrawal of classic French traction, the BB22200 with push/pull Corail sets on TER services between Nice and Marseilles that visit really was now due. 

Thursday 13th March:

BB22310 is ready to depart with a delayed Nice - Marseilles
TER. These trainsets are due to be replaced in June. 13/03/2025

A simple EasyJet flight got me to Nice on time for late morning. Having crossed most of France under cloud cover it was pleasing to descend into sunshine on the Mediterranean coast, with a spectacular approach to Nice airport with the snow-capped Alps as a backdrop. Passage through security was quick and once I had found the footpath, it was a simple walk straight to the airport station, Nice Saint-Augustin. I had already worked out that there was no connection to get me west until the loco hauled TER in about 90 minutes, so set about travelling into Nice to burn time and see what was going on. The plan quickly fell into disarray as the trains were all heavily disrupted due to what SNCF described as 'an accident involving a person' at Golfe-Juan- I had already dealt with three of those at work during the week so this was clearly a continuing theme... 

Fortunately the lines were already re-opened and within moments of arriving on the platform the familiar form of a Corail train pulled into the platform, Nice-bound. It was a no-brainer to hop on for the short push behind BB22310. On arrival at Nice there were yet more cancellations, but my train made a nice picture in the rapidly-diminishing sunshine and it was clear that it was going to shortly form a train back to Marseilles- excellent. 

Clearly there was no particular desire to get the train moving any time soon, as despite having a driver in the cab and a full crew the train remained in the platform for a good 30 minutes just waiting, eventually though we did get going, still sooner than my planned train and a pleasant journey was had to St Raphael Valescure which would be my base for the four days. 

DMU X307 of the Chermins de fer de Provence arrives
at the Nice CP station on a gloomy evening. A regular
commuter service runs, with several trains a day 
running the full 151km to Digne. 14/03/2025

Given the weather had clouded over within an hour of arriving in the country, there was no real need to head straight out for photographs, so with the next TER now not far behind it seemed eminently sensible to pick up BB22207 forward to Les Arcs Draguignan from where another lucky quick transfer put me onto BB22309 heading back. It was now time to take a local TER (now branded 'Zou!') to Antheor-Cap-Roux for my afternoon of photography, or at least reconnaissance.

Having proved that my location was viable, I was starting to get cold and wet and was achieving nothing photographically so it was time to make my exit.  Unfortunately back at Antheor station the trains were still significantly disrupted, meaning I had well over an hour to wait for my short journey back to St Raphael- to make it worse there is nothing at all open in this village off-season and barely any shelter at the station either! Maybe I should have just abandoned the trip and stayed at home as I had strongly considered in the days before!?

I was glad the rain had stopped on arrival back at St Raphael as it was a 25 minute walk to my hotel the Sable et Soleil (that's 'Sand and Sun' - neither of which I would be seeing much of!) which was located midway between the towns of St Raphael and Frejus. Since it was still fairly early I walked to the old town centre of Frejus where I failed to order a pizza from one of the few restaurants which was open- that said it was a very nice meal!

Friday 14th March:

The weather forecast had improved enough for this morning that I decided it was worth setting an 0600 alarm to get out onto the scenic part of the coast for the morning shot of the Paris - Nice sleeper, the only loco hauled passenger aside from the push/pull sets, and the only train which could produce a more interesting loco. There were a few patches of blue in the sky, but I did not hold out a lot of hope. 
Amazingly once I had found a position in the red rocks east of Antheor a sizeable gap in the cloud opened up and with the sleeper being a few minutes late, the scene was bathed in sunshine. I was certainly pleased when BB22343 wearing the classic 'beton' livery swung into view- this train was my only chance really catch one of these classic liveried locos, so not getting a 'ghost' or a Sybic was a bonus!

BB22343 runs alongside the Mediterranean working the 21:27 Paris Austerlitz - Nice sleeper- the only passenger service booked for a non-RC fitted push/pull loco. 14/03/2025.

Z26538 arrives at the subterranean
Monaco Monte-Carlow station. 14/03/2025.

I checked out a few more spots on the route, but before the next set of TER locos appeared the light had gone and the cloud increased. After a short while longer it was time to turn to the days alternative entertainment, a visit to Monaco to at least tick off another country. I had forgotten just how slow this railway is, and taking the stopping TER service all the way from Antheor to Monaco really proved it. The route is crying out for some more limited stop express services- there are currently none between Nice and Ventimiglia. 

X305 and X307 of the Chermin de fer de Provence
stand at Nice CP station. 14/03/2025.

Returning from Monaco once I felt damp enough, and some 30,000 steps later I called in at Nice to photograph the sleeper, it being too dark at this time of year to catch the evening train on the move. There was time to wander the 15 minutes to the small Chermin de fer to Provence from where diesel trains run on the meter gauge network- an option for another rainy day perhaps. After watching BB22343 departing again there were a few more shots taken of BB22307 on a TER before the train itself was taken back to St Raphael. Tonight I got my pizza and got to bed at a reasonable time.

BB22343 is ready do depart from Nice with the return sleeper to Paris Austerlitz. At this time of year running in darkness along the Cote d'Azure. 14/03/2025.

Saturday 15th March:

PACA liveried BB22258 is captured on the impressive viaduct at Antheor with a short Corail stock move from Nice, presumably bound for Marseilles, balancing a move in the other direction earlier in the day. 15/03/2026

The forecast wasn't good enough to persuade me to set an early alarm for the sleeper today and with damp conditions I needed something to fill the morning before it was due to brighten up in the afternoon. 
I took BB22307 (again) to Toulon where I had almost 1 1/2 hours to look around the city before picking up BB22402 back to St Raphael and onto the local TER services. I had no desire to stand on my hillside in the rain, which was still falling, so continued to Theoule-sur-Mer where there was a shot I wanted to check, and where I thought there might just be somewhere I could get some supplies (I was low on water). I found a couple of restaurants (which would only serve me lunch, not a just a beer) and fortunately a bar where I could get a beer to pass the time, but also could buy a drink and a snack. 
Now it was brightening up it was time to head back to the hillside at Antheor. 

The cloud did eventually clear- and before the sun went behind the hills, but unfortunately it wasn't quite early enough to catch the more interesting trains. Fortunately I was thrown one bit of fortune with BB22258 (In PACA livery) hauling one coach as a stock move from Nice (presumably to Marseilles Blancard), a loco had been seen going the other way hauling two earlier in the day. 

BB22307 pauses at St Raphael Valescure with a Marseilles 
bound TER. 14/03/2025.

Back at St Raphael, I was slightly surprised to exit the station to find a large police presence, and people all over the place in what had been a quiet town up until now. Initially I wondered what chaos I had walked into, but it soon became apparent it was just the local circus festival which was about to parade around the streets- that provided some non-railway entertainment for a while before I bought supplies for the next day (knowing there was nothing in Antheor) and headed back to the station for the sleeper. 

The sleeper was conspicuous by its absence on the info boards and after much trawling through the abyss that is SNCF's various online journey planners and information pages (most of which have very little information) I managed to confirm that due to engineering works the sleeper was not running overnight Saturday or Sunday this weekend- that scuppered the mornings plan then! 


Sunday 16th March:

A single TGV Duplex just about fits the scene at Antheor Cap-Roux as it crosses the impressive viaduct. 16/03/2025.

While the sleeper was out of the equation, the forecast for a full day of nice sunny weather meant that I was up early for my last walk along the shore to St Raphael station to get back to the red rocks of Antheor. 

I wasn't 100% sure where to start the day since the sun would not be on the front of westbound trains for a few hours, and every TER set I had seen so far this trip had been formed with the loco on the west/Marseilles end (this was not expected and made photo planning much easier than I had anticipated!). Fortunately I realised as we approached Agay that the sun had just about come around for the spot here, and without the sleeper to worry about I could get into position for the first trains here instead. This proved a good move with a TER set in both directions, one almost bowled by a TGV! Another surprise was in store as with no passenger trains a rumble was heard- a Prima hauled freight, fortunately in the right direction and very well lit- I wasn't sure I would see much freight at all on a Sunday. 

Prima BB27034 passes the bay at Agay with a westbound morning freight. 16/03/2025.

Now it was on to Antheor where I spent a pleasant few hours trying as many photo spots as I could. The weather was perfect- except for a very strong and cold wind! This meant that I couldn't really use the drone I had been lugging around for the whole trip, but fortunately it turned out not really to be needed. 

The race is on- TGV Duplex 726 takes on some cyclists.
16/03/2025

The only set back this morning was that one TER diagram was formed of a trio of Z23500 units, which took out one potential photograph in each direction. There are plenty of angles to shoot on this section, and I was glad to be on foot as the car parking situation seemed to be slightly chaotic. Many of the shots however are quite restricted, not fitting a full train, and with close together catenary masts and massive vistas- that said, I was happy with most of the results. 

By mid-afternoon it was time to return to my spot on the hill overlooking the viaduct at Antheor. The light was coming around well by now and I reckoned I just about had time to catch a couple of TGV's and a loco hauled TER set before rushing back to the station and on to the airport by TGV which I had booked a reservation for. All of the trains had been running perfectly to time all day, and during the wait I was very pleased to also catch another freight train on the viaduct, behind a BB36000, my third freight of the day. 

When the afternoon 'Ouigo' TGV did not appear at it's booked time I was a little surprised- this was the first train not to arrive within a minute of when I expected... A look on the live departure boards revealed it was 15 minutes late at Cannes, not great for my rush to the station. A little while later it was 25 minutes late and quickly evident it had not left. Messages then started appearing about a 'power failure' and then 'obstruction on the line'- my thoughts had quickly shifted from annoyance that I wasn't going to get my shot to 'how do I make it to the airport'. To confirm I really had a problem, the local unit I needed to be on was showing as cancelled, and as I descended the hill I realised the one from an hour earlier was still sitting in the platform. 

Uber to the rescue to get me at least to St Raphael where somebody might be able to tell me my options- Ubers are expensive in France! But at least it worked and got be back. As I have already mentioned, there are no facilities in Antheor off season! At St Raphael the scene was as chaotic as expected, the platforms taped off with BB36340, my lucky freight, sitting dead in the platform. A member of staff assured me that I would still make my flight once the trains were running (a near impossibility) and indicated the reason for the stoppage- the Circus festival was back in town and their paper streamers had been blown by the wind and were now knotted all around the catenary! Really- you couldn't make this up!

I had already looked up flights for the following day, but with no short notice cover available at work I really had little choice but to take the quick option and book myself an Uber to Marseilles airport- and over €300 this was really not the end to the trip I wanted- but needs must. 

At least the flight from Marseilles back home was on time - though the 'cheap' terminal must be one of the worst places to fly from- it literally appears to be a converted warehouse!


Conclusions:

Akiem Prima 37524 passes light engine along the coast heading towards Ventimiglia and the Italian border. The locomotive curiously returned later in the morning, again, light engine. 14/03/2025.

Overall I think I am glad that I did not abandon the trip before even starting it. I achieved most of the pictures I wanted, though with better luck this could probably all have been done in about 12 hours rather than 4 days! 

I've always loved railways by the sea, and this is an outstanding example- it will be rather less interesting once the loco-hauled sets disappear later this year and even less so if the Cote d'Azure LGV ever gets built to take the TGV's off the route as well. Transdev maintains that the new trains will start on 29th June but it will be interesting to see what happens in reality as it has been widely reported that the new trains will not be ready for the start of the contract.

Now... does my travel insurance cover additional taxi journeys...?

BB36342 is set against dramatic scenery as it skirts the coast with a westbound freight. 16/03/2025.

SNCFT Tunisia Trip Report 25-28th February 2025

MLW built 060-DP-147 heads north at Menzel Gare on the meter gauge network with train 13-5/72 from Metlaoui to Tunis 25/02/2025.

Introduction:

SNTF Algerian Railways class 060-DJ-21 and 07 of the GE
U18C family depart Tunis Ville with the international train to 
Annaba on Friday 28th February 2025.

For several years myself and a friend had thought that Tunisia may be a country worth visiting for its railways. There are several attractions; good scenery, both standard and meter gauge networks with loco-hauled passenger trains. A particular draw being the MLW '060-DP' class locomotives, cousins of our much loved CP 1960 class which have now numbered just one in traffic for several years in Portugal- in Tunisia they still have booked passenger work! 
Some favourable trip reports in the second half of 2024 along with identification of some very reasonably priced and timed flights saw the trip given the go ahead.

Tuesday 25th February:

The first major challenge was to get to Gatwick Airport for the 0915 flight to Enfidha. Simple enough except that when booking I had forgotten I was on a night shift the day before, finishing at 0700, and not particularly near Gatwick!

Fortunately all went well and I made it to the airport for the 0900 flight. The trains were all to time and Gatwick obliged with the usual seamless walk through security. Even Easyjet managed both an on time departure and arrival at Enfidha airport. Passage into Tunisia was painless and achieved in what must be close to record time. By around 1300 we were away in our hire car and looking for the railway.

First stop was to call in to Enfidha station where the station master was very helpful in advising that there were trains in both directions, as we expected, and the likely delay to those services. We were also advised that there was no freight expected during daylight. Armed with this information we set out to look for locations, expecting southbound train 5/73 to appear first. We settled on Menzel Gare which had a reasonable view where the sun would be right for the southbound train. Except of course that its expected time came and went. Eventually it was the northbound train, 13-5/72 which arrived first, and only around 20 minutes late, behind 060-DP-147. There we were. First train of the trip and we had a decently lit shot of a meter gauge DP!

The southbound train was a good 40 minutes longer to wait, being around an hour late when it passed us with the more normal traction in the form of 040-GT-561. Knowing the northbound had already passed allowed us to walk along the line and around the corner to follow the sun angle. 

We had already realised our first major mistake in Tunisia- in our excitement to get lineside we had not taken out any cash at the airport, and it turns out this is a very cash heavy society- so of course we couldn't buy anything, or pay for road tolls! 

We now had a drive around before ending up back in the same spot for the next pair of trains; Southbound 5-12/79 and Northbound 5/76. The southbound arrived just a few minutes too late to catch the setting sun, but was also a DMU (loco expected). Just a few minutes later it
was 040-GT-562 heading north. 

The 'booked' traction for meter gauge passenger trains, 040-GT-561 approaches Menzel Gare 25/02/2025.

060-DP-147 prepares to work the 21:15 overnight train from 
Tunis to Gabes. 25/02/2025.

We now had about 2 hours to drive up to Tunis, after finally finding time to make a stop at an ATM and subsequently pick up some water- the drive was bit of a struggle since neither of us had really had any sleep the night before, and of course having waited until last light, the drive up the Trans Africa Highway would be in the dark. 

By the time we had checked in to the basic (but with a station view) Hotel Dar Ali it wasn't far off time to view train 5/97, the 21:15 overnight to Gabes. To our delight it was once again 060-PD-147 trusted to the duty, which we enjoyed photographing and watching before its on time departure. 

Now it was time to head into the city for some late dinner. We stumbled upon a lovey restaurant, Bab Tounis where we enjoyed a nice traditional meal (but unfortunately no beer) before they closed. 

To finish off our late night we committed to getting up nice and early for the 06:35 train in the morning!

Wednesday 26th February:

060-DP-132 approaches Jedeida in the rain. 26/02/2025.

We knew the weather forecast was poor today so it was not expected to wake up to rain. Still, we had a train to ride so were at the station for the 06:35 to Ghardimaou, however there was a little problem as the hotel door was locked! After trying to push it open and causing a bit of commotion the hotelier appeared with a key to let us out... As expected the train was a DMU. The 2 ar contraption was very full, very slow, had doors which didn't quite shut all of the way and both windscreens with large impact marks. I can't say the ride to Jedeida was particularly enjoyable, but once there we did find something for breakfast before the main event which was the return journey on train 8 the 04:20 inbound from Ghardimaou to Tunis. This train is booked for an 060-DP and indeed it was, in the shape of 060-DP-132. The train loaded to three coaches an was once again rammed, we found a position just about inside the doorway to cling on, with the bonus that we could hear the MLW beautifully through the open door. Unlike the DMU it made good work of the journey and put a reasonable performance. Remarkably the train ran right on time, which was fortunate as the 08:20 arrival into Tunis meant we were able to watch the international train to Annaba in Algeria depart behind SNTF 060-DJ's 21 and 07. 

The scrap line up of 040-DO-283/284/324/281 at Jebel Jeloud. 26/02/2025.

DM 272 / DP 132 line up at Tunis Ville. 26/02/2025

Without much more to see loco-hauled train wise, we headed down the line on one of the meter gauge EMU's to Jebel Jeloud to follow in the footsteps of probably all the other UK enthusiasts and explore the three demic 040-DO 'Ganz' diesels (040-DO-283/284/324/281). After a good climb over these it was time for a bit of tourism where we headed into the old Medina with a trader who had appointed himself as our 'free' guide. Escaping without having purchased a rug we headed back to the station to watch the 13:05 departure for Ghaudimau- as expected, in the hands of 060-DP-132.  Also in the station was 040-DM-372 complete with auto-coupler and attached to one of the meter gauge EMU's looking ready to drag it, presumably to the depot.

It was still raining when we hit the road, but as we approached Beja for 'the' Tunisian shot there were some small signs that the weather might brighten up. We didn't have a lot of hope, and of course, the beautiful view was passed by the DP under cloud- only to brighten up just a few minutes later! Typical!

A horn was heard on our way back to the car which heralded a search for its source, a freight train being shunted in the yard. We parked up next to said yard just in time to see 060-DN-318 departing with a train of grain hoppers. The chase was on, and despite the weather not really playing ball we had an enjoyable time chasing the loco down the line, the driver of the DN seemingly as entertained by this as we were!

060-DN-318 is pictured on the viaduct at Beja with its freight working which is heading towards Tunis. 26/02/2025

With dusk falling it was now time to turn attention to the evening activity- guaranteeing some good weather tomorrow by driving for 5 hours to Sfax where we would book a room for the night. The drive was enjoyable at first, but after discovering a road full of potholes shortly after sunset, we were pleased to finally arrive in Sfax and the Hotel Pascha which we had booked on the way, sometime after 21:00. 

Thursday 27th February:

Another early start which proved entirely unnecessary- with breakfast at 0600 when it opened before hitting the road. 

We had an ambitious schedule today as with yesterdays cloud it was now the only way to fit in all the photos we wanted. We would drive to the scenic hilly section of line between Mezzouna and Maknassy to catch the inbound train 13-5/72 from Metaloui before embarking on another circa 5 hour drive back to Beja to have another go at the standard gauge DP! Crazy or what?

A big surprise was that the scene before us was not the golden desert we were expecting, but a lush green landscape of wild flowers! Of course our plan didn't last long as on arrival at our first spot train the Metlaoui to Tunis was not reporting on the live running page of the SNCFT website (we had already learned that while a good 'guide' the accuracy of this information could not be trusted). Fearing that an expected time of '-' might simply mean the train was not running we were about to give up as a bad job and head straight to Beja (sacrificing circa 10 hours of driving) when the train suddenly started reporting 20 minutes late. Which would make it approximately.. now! Of course it wasn't, and by the time the train passed behind 060-DS-658 some 110 minutes late, we had long passed our cut-off to head to Beja. Still while the sun was now off the front we had a very pleasing shot here - we would have been gutted to have left with nothing after all the effort. 

060-DS-658 is captured in an unusually green scene between Mezzouna and Maknassy with train 13-5/72 from Metlaoui. These EMD GT42 AC locomotives are the newest of the SNCFT fleet being delivered in 2019 for phosphate traffic. 27/02/2025

With no sign of any phosphate traffic and no prospect of reaching Beja we needed a new plan for the afternoon. I decided upon driving a further 90 minutes to the junction at Gafsa, which appeared to be a bit of a phosphate hub, after which we could photograph the afternoon train to Metlaoui (already reporting 20 minutes late) assuming it made it before sunset. 

040-DK-87 from MLW is a welcome sight shunting outside the roundhouse at Gafsa. 27/02/2025

The drive to Gafsa was busier than I was expecting and I was rather regretting the whole thing by the time we arrived. This feeling was short lived however as we were greeted by 060-DP-139 approaching the level crossing having just detached from a train of wagons. Our quest to fathom out what it was going to do next led us into the depot area, where fortunately we were very warmly received by the staff, who informed us that the DP was shunting simply shunting wagons (alongside 040-DK-87) and was not about to work a mainline train. While a bit of a shame, the light was perfect and a good selection of photographs were taken until one of the drivers decided that we were not permitted without a permit. As well as the locos active in shunting a further three DS locomotives (651/661/669) as well as another DK (83) were present on the depot. The depot staff mentioned that there might be a phosphate train around 17:00, really we needed to be on the road by then.

060-DP-139 is engaged in shunting duties at Gafsa, a major junction for phosphate routes. 27/02/2025.

With our photography session over at Gafsa, we hit the road back towards Sfax and settled on a nice level crossing near Sened to photograph the afternoon passenger train to Metlaoui - only the second train we had seen on the mainline all day! Fortunately this arrived only around 25 minutes late, again behind the same DS we had seen this morning. 

We now really needed to think about driving back to Tunis, but popped into the station at Menzel just in case anyone was able to give us any firm information on a phosphate train. The station was locked up, and shortly after a large band of cloud emerged from seemingly nowhere to tell us that it really was time now to get on the road. We paused along the way for an excellent meal of barbequed lamb (I think!) with all sorts of condiments, which ultimately ended up quite expensive. Both fairly exhausted we decided not to set our alarms for the 06:35 Ghardimaou in the morning!

Friday 28th February:

SNTF 060-DJ-21 and 060-DJ-07 pass the first viaduct near Beja with the very smart looking international train to Annaba in Algeria which re-started in 2024 after a long absence. 28/02/2025

Despite not setting my alarm I was woken early in the morning to the sound of a diesel- dragging myself to the window I made it just in time to see the coaches disappearing around the corner on train 7, the 06:35 to Ghardimaou... Loco vice DMU this morning, even if I hadn't seen what was on the front! Perhaps I should have got up early enough to have a ride on it!?

Anyway, back to bed for a bit before a wander over the station to photograph the Algerian locos which were in the station for the thrice weekly 08:25 to Annaba. Unlike Wednesday morning it was sunny, and since the forecast was still variable it made sense to see the train here while we knew the weather was good before chasing it down on the line. 

As well as the pair of 060 DJ's also present in the station was 060-DP-147 on the narrow gauge as well as another unknown loco which arrived over at the back fo the station. Just before the Annaba departure, 060-DP-132 also arrived as expected on the inbound Ghardimaou, almost bowling the DJ's in the process! The connection would not have made this morning, so perhaps best I hadn't gone for the ride. 

040-DM-272 forms a Ghardimaou to Tunis train 
running vice DMU. 28/02/2025.

Having grabbed some breakfast it was now time to get in the car, check out of the hotel and get to Beja ahead of the DJ's. This didn't prove too difficult even with a petrol stop and some initial difficulties negotiating a dirt track. What was more of a concern driving west was the clouds which seemed to be sitting in the hills- this turned out to be patches of dense fog, one of which was well obscuring the view of where Beja should have been. Luckily fortune was on our side just for once, with the fog clearing sufficiently for a nice shot on the 'other' viaduct at Beja. While we were waiting a local woman started bellowing at us- while initially concerned that we were being ejected from her field, it turned out quite to the contrary that she actually wanted to offer us a lovely bowl of some sort of pancake-esque bread! Delicious they were too, though she then disappeared making the return of her bowl somewhat problematic. 

We didn't expect to see much else with the day now, though knew there was a good chance we would hang around until the afternoon Ghardimaou train for another chance at 'the' shot, even though it would leave us very very tight for our flight home. We went into the station (which is currently a building site, while a new build station building is erected (for the 8 trains a day) to see if the staff there could give any info on any freight movements. We din't find the station master, but did make acquaintance with a nice chap who turned out to be a driver (currently off-track after his 13th fatality!). His information wasn't particularly great but assured us there was no freight due. A quick trip into town, missing a light engine movement to the freight yard (presumably to shunt the freight that had arrived (!)). It was then time to head to another location to photograph the midday train, the return of the departure that I had seen loco hauled in the morning. Our driver friend assured us this was a DMU (as booked), but we were not so surprised when it appeared hauled by 040-DM-272 (no longer with auto-coupler). Unfortunately though the weather had deteriorated and it even tried to rain (despite the 1% chance in the forecast). This was enough though to sensibly persuade us to give up on the afternoon Beja shot and enjoy a much more relaxed journey back to Enfiha airport (yeah right!). Maybe we might catch one of the evening trains on the meter gauge once we got there. 

The journey was quite relaxed until we reached the large junction town of El Fahs, where the road crosses the railway from Tunis to Kalaa Khasba- and the crossing barriers were down. The car was parked and we quickly rushed out to see what was coming. Nothing. Clearly the barriers were faulty (not the first time we had seen that), however it did prompt me to check if anything was due. 

Amazingly it was, train 6/65 from Tunis to Dhamani should have recently past, but was running 25 minutes late. That was enough time for us to find a position, catch one last train and still get to the airport comfortably. A favourable spot was found shortly east of the town which involved climbing onto a half built house, the sun was shining and now all we needed was the train.

A nervous wait ensued, the train kept getting later, the clouds kept threatening. We had no choice but to return the car by 18:30, so really needed a cut-off, and when it came, at 15:00, together with a cloud, it was time to accept defeat even though the train couldn't have been far away. 

And it wasn't far away- as soon as we were back in the car doing a U-turn I spotted it in the distance. We had get out and run back to our position- and the sun just about returned as well. The loco was totally unfamiliar as 040-DF-353 rounded into view. The size of the loco perhaps suggesting how it had lost 20 minutes in time over the last 20 minutes of the journey. Now we REALLY needed to head for the airport, Google predicting we would arrive right on 18:30. Tight. Unfortunately getting back to El Fahs it became clear we may have made a mistake. The town was gridlocked and we were soon well behind our airport target time. The last possible time we had been told we could return the car.

This shot of 040-DF-353 was a big surprise of the trip, not just because of the unusual loco, but also through being totally unplanned and almost loosing out both to time and the weather. The loco is seen heading towards El Fahs with a train to Kalaa Khasba. These small GM's are of a similar design to the now withdrawn Irish 121 class. 28/02/2025.

A bit of off road driving was required to get us out of this mire, around some dubious streets at the back of town. Some ambitious driving followed, which may have resulted in several surprised Sheppards (but fortunately without being pulled over at any police checkpoints). Ask no questions, but arrival at Enfidha airport was almost 15 minutes clear, even with a fuel stop. An thus ended an enjoyable trip with a signature to confirm the car had been returned in good order- something of a miracle!

Just as unlikely- EasyJet got us home 20 early!

Conclusions:

060-DS-658 is captured near the town of Sened while working the daily train 5-13/57 from Tunis to Metaloui. The orange livery certainly helps the loco to stand out. 27/02/2025.

Well, when are we going back? The Beja shot is easy enough to do given some decent weather and feels a little like unfinished business. Given this trip was so cheap and the railways so interesting it is already back on the 'to do' list. 

The traction variety was more than we could have hoped for, with all of classes DF, DM, DP, DS, GT and the Algerian DJ class seen on passenger as well as a DN on freight. It seems that the traction shortage is severe enough that anything that works is fair game to chuck out on a train. Managing a ride behind a DP was a key objective which I was glad to tick off, even if we didn't get a chance to ride anything else on this whistlestop tour.

As expected, the one train we saw beyond Sfax re-engined to a DS, one of the modern Progress Rail locos built primarily for phosphate work, and only two GT's were seen working throughout the trip. While reported as being a common loco-substitution the Bizerte train was a DMU on each occasion we saw it. 

Freight traffic is few and far between, and getting info on it appears to be difficult. We only saw one freight on the mainline, which was the standard gauge train which left Beja on Wednesday afternoon. 

060-DN-318 gets underway out of the freight yard at Beja. 26/02/2025.

Timekeeping was poor throughout, however the standard gauge did seem to be capable of running roughly to time, whereas the meter gauge did not. The fact that all trains ran, and within 2 hours suggests we probably fared quite well! It is also worth noting that the line from Tunis to Sousse and Sfax received a new timetable just before our trip (taking out a train in each direction). This was found through a Facebook group, as the SNCFT website still showed the previous timetable, even though their journey search enquiries no longer tallied with it. The ability to search for station updates is a very useful tool to give a guide as to when a train might come, but should not be relied upon as trains still turned up significantly later than these times. If planning photo locations it is worth considering what they will look like 2 hours after the booked train time!

Thanks to Rob for the company, entertaining the idea of coming to Tunisia and for the 'enthusiastic' driving. Next time I would like to spend a little longer on trains, and a little less time driving! 

Unfinished business for next time- 060-DP-132 doesn't attract the sunshine as it passes the classic location on the outskirts of Beja with the 13:05 train to Ghaudimau. 26/02/2025.